“Thanks for the advice,” she said curtly, then stalked off.
Get fracking my ass, she thought. If anyone had to stop slacking it was her dad, who urgently needed to patch things up with his mother-in-law. Before she drove them all crazy.
She arrived at the police precinct proper, and one of Chase’s colleagues, Sarah Flunk, gestured in the direction of the interview rooms. She walked on, passing her uncle’s empty office, and suddenly wished the big guy was back from his hiking trip already. Without him at the station things kinda felt a little frazzled.
She found Chase in the interview room, reading from a file and looking dazed. She gave the doorjamb a quick knock and stepped inside.
“I just saw Yasir Bellinowski,” she said.
He placed down the file and rubbed his face.“I talked to him.”
“And?”
“Nothing. He’s one slippery little weasel.”
She took a seat across from the cop.“Did you show him the pictures?”
“He said to talk to his personnel manager.”
“What about the rose?”
“He wasn’t impressed.”
They were both silent for a beat, then Odelia remembered something.“I just met Olaf Brettin.”
“Daily Inquirer Olaf Brettin?”
“The one and only. He was paying a visit to Dan.”
“And?”
“You mean did he confess? No, he did not.”
She gave him the CliffsNotes version of their brief conversation and Chase blew out a sigh.“We’re not getting anywhere with this, Poole.”
“I hear you, Kingsley.”
“So what are we doing wrong?”
“You’re the cop, Chase. You tell me.”
He drummed his fingers on the table.“We need to find Harlos and Knar and lean on them until they give up their boss.”
The two men Max and Dooley had mentioned turned out to be two low-level criminals associated with Yasir Bellinowski. Jean Harlos and Markus Knar had a rap sheet an arm long and a reputation for doing whatever their client paid them to do, even murder.
“So it’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Bellinowski is our guy,” said Odelia.
“Yes, he is, but like I said, the guy is as slippery as an eel.”
“Once you catch Harlos and Knar, you’ll have him dead to rights.”
He nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
A knock at the door had them both look up. It was Sarah again. The copper-haired officer with the fine-boned freckled face gave a quick smile.“Deirdre Dickerson is here to see you, Detective. I put her in the Chief’s office.”
“Deirdre Dickerson as in Dick Dickerson’s daughter?” Chase asked.
Sarah nodded and rapped the door before retreating.
Chase and Odelia shared a look of surprise, then both got up.
“Better see what she wants,” said Chase.
“You want me there?”
“Why not? You’re here now, aren’t you? And maybe she’ll feel more inclined to talk when there’s a woman present.”
“Women usually feel pretty disposed to talk around you, though, if Dolores is to be believed,” said Odelia.
Chase grinned.“What has Dolores gone and said now?”
“That there are a lot of women officers who wouldn’t mind getting down and dirty with you—especially now that I kicked you out of my house so I could move my grandma in.”
“Don’t listen to Dolores, honey,” said Chase. “She’s a great cop and I love her to pieces but quite frankly she’s full of crap. And I say this with the greatest respect.”
“Uncle Alec always says Dolores is the station’s barometer. If he wants to know what’s going on all he has to do is take her out for a drink and he’s completely up to date on the latest gossip, grievances, office politics, feuds and every family issue of every officer.”
“Your uncle takes Dolores out for drinks?”
“At least once a month.”
“Chief Alec works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.”
Chapter 41
Deirdre Dickinson was a tall young woman with a sandy-colored bob, a tilt-tipped nose and a pronounced chin. She got up when they entered.
“Detective Kingsley?” she said. She looked a little anxious, Odelia thought.
“That’s me. And this is our civilian consultant, Odelia Poole.”
Deirdre nodded nervously.“I just wanted to know when my father’s body will be released. I would like to organize the funeral as soon as possible.”
“I would have to check with the coroner’s office,” said Chase. “But I imagine it won’t be long now. Please, take a seat.”
Deirdre did, and so did Chase and Odelia, Chase on Uncle Alec’s side of the desk, and Odelia right next to Deirdre.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Miss Dickerson,” said Odelia, leaning forward and placing a commiserating hand on the woman’s arm.
Deirdre nodded and looked down. Her eyes were red-rimmed and it was obvious she’d been crying. “I loved my father, Miss Poole. In spite of the horrible things people say about him he was not a bad man. He just did what he thought he had to do to make it in his line of work.”
“Did… you have a good relationship?”
“Yes, we did. In private, my father was a sweetheart. Not the bully they made him out to be.”
“There’s a rumor,” Odelia began, and Deirdre looked up sharply.
“Don’t believe the rumors, Miss Poole. I know people say Daddy cut me out of his will but there’s absolutely no truth to that.”
“I heard you were suing him?”
Deirdre shook her head decidedly.“Vicious gossip started by Daddy’s enemies. We had a wonderful relationship.”
“Now that you’re here, I wanted to show you something,” said Chase, and took out the picture of the rose. He placed it on the desk in front of Deirdre.
“What is this?” she asked, looking up.
“It was found in the safe. Where your father died,” Chase explained.
Deirdre’s eyes shot full of tears at these words, and she quickly took out a tissue and pressed it to her nose. “This is all so horrible. He didn’t deserve to die—and he certainly didn’t deserve to die in this way. Who would do such a terrible thing? And why?”
“Does the name Yasir Bellinowski mean anything to you?” asked Odelia.
Deirdre shook her head, trying to compose herself.“Is he the man that did this?”
“He’s one of the leads we’re pursuing,” said Chase.
“He’s a gangster, isn’t he? A mobster? My father published stories about him.”
“Did he ever mention Bellinowski to you?”
“Daddy never talked about his work. He liked to keep his family life and his professional life strictly separate. He even forbade us from reading theNational Star when we grew up. Of course me and my sisters would sneak copies home from school and read them anyway.” She smiled a weak smile. “We were very proud of him. All of us were. Even Mom.”
Odelia remembered reading about Deirdre’s mom. She was Dickerson’s second wife, and originally hailed from France, where she’d returned after the divorce. Dickerson had gone on to marry two more times, but those marriages had ended in divorce as well.
“I know the rumors, Detective,” Deirdre said. “I know how they say that I did it. Or at least one of us. To get our hands on Daddy’s money. But I can assure you we would never hurt our father. He was a family man and doted on us. Even after he divorced our mother.” She looked up imploringly. “Please find whoever did this, Detective. Thesemonsters can’t be allowed get away with this. They really can’t.”
And with these words, she finally broke down into sobs.
Odelia rubbed her back, but generally felt helpless. She couldn’t imagine anything ever happening to her father or mother. She’d be devastated, too. And when she locked eyes with Chase, she could see he was thinking the same thing. There was a determined look in his eyes. He was going to bring Yasir Bellinowski to justice. Whatever it took.
Chapter 42
That evening, a homey scene at Odelia’s masked a deeper, more horrible truth: a usurper was working away in the background, chipping away at the foundations that made ours such a warm nest. I would have warned Odelia, but she was so busy with her investigation, hunched over her laptop, a frown marring her lovely features, that I didn’t have the heart to disturb her.